Meanings
- conjunctivenot comparableIn other words; that is to say. Used to introduce a clarification or explanation
We have never met —not formally, that is.
3 more examples
The Brazilian population is multiethnic—that is, it has many ethnicities.
Mr. Underwood not only ran The Maycomb Tribune office, he lived in it. That is, above it.
1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLCSome say history repeats itself, that time is cyclical. Others cling to the notion of progress and change over time. Apparently Nancy Walker marches to a different drummer — marches backwards, that is. Her ideas on art and society seem quaint and odd on the one hand and, on the other, petty and regressive.
1981 December 27, Wade Nichols, “Victorian Imperialism”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 23, page 5Synonyms: that is to say, i.e., better put, i.e., in other words, put differently, that is to say, to put it another way
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn other words; that is to say. Used to introduce a clarification or explanation
Origin
- Middle Englishthat is
- Middle Englishthat is
- Englishthat is
Inherited from Middle English that is, from Old English þæt is.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans dit wil sê
- dit wil sêin other words
Arabic يَعْنِي, أَي
- يَعْنِي (yaʕnī)in other words
- أَي (ʔay)in other words
Basque hau da
- hau dain other words
Bulgarian то́ест, т. е.
- то́ест (tóest)in other words
- т. е. (t. e.)in other words
- си́реч (síreč)in other words
Catalan és a dir, ço és
- és a dirin other words
- ço ésin other words
- o sigui (hispanism)in other words
Chinese Cantonese 即係話 /即系话
- 即係話 /即系话 (zik¹ hai⁶ waa⁶)in other words
Chinese Mandarin 就是說 /就是说, 換句話說 /换句话说
- 就是說 /就是说 (jiùshìshuō)in other words
- 換句話說 /换句话说 (huànjùhuàshuō)in other words
- 亦即 (yìjí)in other words
Czech to znamená, jinými slovy
- to znamenáin other words
- jinými slovyin other words
- to jein other words
Danish det vil sige, dvs.
- det vil sigein other words
- dvs.in other words
Dutch namelijk, dat wil zeggen
- namelijkin other words
- dat wil zeggenin other words
- met andere woordenin other words
Esperanto tio estas
- tio estasin other words
Finnish eli, nimittäin
- eliin other words
- nimittäinin other words
- toisin sanoenin other words
- meinaanin other words
French c'est-à-dire, c-à-d
- c'est-à-direin other words
- c-à-din other words
German das heißt
- das heißtin other words
Greek δηλαδή
- δηλαδή (diladí)in other words
Hebrew כְּלוֹמַר, במילים אחרות
- כְּלוֹמַר (k'lomár)in other words
- במילים אחרות (bemilím acherót)in other words
- היינו (haynu)in other words
Hindi यानी
- यानी (yānī)in other words
Hungarian azaz, illetve
- azazin other words
- illetvein other words
Icelandic það er
- það erin other words
Irish mar atá
- mar atáin other words
Italian cioè, cioè a dire
- cioèin other words
- cioè a direin other words
Japanese つまり, すなわち
- つまり (tsumari)in other words
- すなわち (sunawachi)in other words
Korean 즉, 말하자면
- 즉 (jeuk)in other words
- 말하자면 (malhajamyeon)in other words
Latin vidēlicet, id est
- vidēlicetin other words
- id estin other words
Lithuanian tai yra
- tai yrain other words
Malay yakni
- yakniin other words
Norwegian Bokmål altså
- altsåin other words
Persian یعنی
- یعنی (ya'ni)in other words
Polish mianowicie, czyli
- mianowiciein other words
- czyliin other words
- to znaczyin other words
- to jestin other words
Portuguese isto é, ou seja
- isto éin other words
- ou sejain other words
Romanian adică
- adicăin other words
Russian то́ есть, т. е.
- то́ есть (tó jestʹ)in other words
- т. е.in other words
- то́ бишь (tó bišʹ)in other words
- ина́че говоря́ (ináče govorjá)in other words
- други́ми слова́ми (drugími slovámi)in other words
Scottish Gaelic sin a ràdh, sin ri ràdh
- sin a ràdhin other words
- sin ri ràdhin other words
- 's e sinin other words
Spanish o sea
- o seain other words
Swahili yaani
- yaaniin other words
Swedish det vill säga
- det vill sägain other words
Tagalog alalaong baga'y, kumbaga
- alalaong baga'yin other words
- kumbagain other words
Tamil அதாவது
- அதாவது (atāvatu)in other words
Thai คือ
- คือ (kʉʉ)in other words
Turkish yani, başka bir deyişle
- yaniin other words
- başka bir deyişlein other words
Ukrainian то́бто, це́бто
- то́бто (tóbto)in other words
- це́бто (cébto)in other words
- се́бто (sébto)in other words
Urdu یعنی
- یعنی (ya'nī)in other words
Vietnamese tức là, nghĩa là
- tức làin other words
- nghĩa làin other words
Welsh sef, hynny yw
- sefin other words
- hynny ywin other words
Cite this entry
that is. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20is
“that is.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20is. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “that is,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/that%20is.
Source: that is on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.